Trump threatens Washington commander over franchise name
President Trump is demanding that Washington commanders return to their original names and threaten the stadium’s plans if they do not comply.
WASHINGTON – D.C. area residents have a message to President Donald Trump, who is threatening to derail the commander’s pending football stadium deal unless the team restores their old names.
Trump posted on Truth Social on July 20th that if the team does not switch to a previous name that is considered an attack by Native Americans, the team could block contracts to build new stadiums on the old RFK stadium site.
“They may rename the original “Washington Redskins” and limit them to getting rid of the outrageous monica “Washington Commander.”
Steve Mahoney, 62, said Trump has “larger fish to fry” than he puts pressure on his commander to change the team name. “All the other things he said he was trying to do what he wasn’t doing,” he said.
Retired from a pharmaceutical career, Mahoney holds a love for his hometown team, the Chicago Bears. The now-based Washington resident wants Trump to let both the capital and its football team handle his problems, Mahoney said.
“Fans adopted a new name,” Mahony said.
Jessica Brown, 48, said she would just pay “just enough attention” to the president to “know how it will affect my life.”
The stadium problem is clearly one of these cases. Brown was not hampered when it came to Trump’s threat of blocking trades at RFK Stadium. “He should keep his nose in his lane,” she said.
Brown, a nurse in Alexandria, Virginia, said she supported changing her name to avoid titles that would be considered racist by commanders and other teams.
“You just have to choose another name. There are so many more,” she said. Her advice to local leaders involved in stadium trading – “Ignore him.”
Two new names, and one great season
In 2013, then-two team owner Dan Snyder told USA Today:
However, Snyder and the league had little choice after major corporate sponsors threatened to withdraw funds amid George Floyd’s 2020 protests. The Cleveland Guardian of Major League Baseball was also subject to the Crusades of Trump’s recent nickname.
The team removed their previous nicknames in 2020 and passed the “Washington Football Team” for two seasons before rebranding “Commander” in 2022.
When the commander was sold in 2023, the possibility of a different name change was made possible, but it was not a priority for the new establishment led by managing partner Josh Harris. At press conferences at the end of a stunning season – often seeing a seller resident team come within one Super Bowl game – Harris essentially negates the idea of a name change.
The organization and players have accepted the name of the “commander” as they are excited about the team’s transformation. However, the name change did not result in the return of the name before 2020.
Last year, both Congressional parties worked together to pass a bill that gave the local DC government a 99-year lease of the land, which sits on the banks of the Anacostia River, near the eastern edge of the city. The commander played at RFK Stadium from 1961 to 1996 and at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. It has since been considered one of the worst stadiums in the NFL.
This paved the way for the Commander and DC to launch the $3.7 billion stadium deal announced in April. The deal places a $1.1 billion forecast on the district, with the commander giving $2.7 billion.
Trump’s threat is called “movements to attract attention.”
Griffin Lafayette, who visited Native Washington in Raleigh, North Carolina, is called the Trump threat to block RFK Stadium deals if the Washington commander doesn’t return his name to his original nickname “really stupid.”
Lafayette, a 25-year-old soccer fan, said:
Lafayette said he’s throwing away the original name of the team “all.”
Gerald Collins, 66, said he doesn’t care about the team’s name, but he hopes Trump will “stay” the RFK Stadium deal.
“He’s not a Washingtonian,” said Collins, a lifelong DC resident who works in construction. “What he’s doing is very wrong. He just wants to control things.”
Collins said he will always support the team, regardless of their name. He hopes the deal will move forward as he will bring the team back to the area where he saw them play when he was growing up.
The mayor’s confident stadium contract is complete
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, the stadium contract champion who negotiated with the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizard earlier this year, was asked about Trump’s power to block the deal.
“I think what we should focus on in DC is playing a role,” Bowser says. “I have worked to complete most of the decade, taking control of the land, reaching an agreement with the team, and moving forward with a great deal with the council, so we need to play a role.
It is now up to the DC City Council to approve the transaction. DC Council Speaker Phil Mendelsson, who is a skeptic of the proposal, has yet to set a specific date for the vote. A hearing on issues scheduled for July 29th and 30th.
“No, I won’t,” Bowser responded when asked whether the name had been changed to the previous name would affect support for the current stadium plan.
This topic has been growing interest for Trump. On July 6, Trump told reporters he would not have changed his name, but detailed that “winning” could create a name that he personally enjoys.
Stephen Keekel, 36, said Trump’s threat to block the stadium was a bit unsurprising.
“It sounds like a typical Trump is a Trump,” he said. “If they wait long enough, he’ll be distracted and it’ll go through.”
Kiekel, an engineer and Washington native, is not an avid sports follower, except for football. However, he lives near the proposed stadium in the shadow of the US Capitol.
Keekel said that “it’s difficult” because of Washington’s unique relationship with the federal government. Questions have emerged regarding actual surveillance of Trump and federal land, particularly under the new law.
Don’t ruin your success and leave your name behind, fans say
James Anderson, 47, is largely because he wants to continue his team’s fortune.
“They play much better, so I don’t want them to change anything,” he said. Last season, the commander advanced to the franchise’s first NFC Championship for the first time in 33 years.
Maureen Brown, 57, said that if the commander returns to his previous name, it would be a “big step.”
“I don’t want to see them come back,” she said. “The Commander is a great name. “Red Wolf” would be good too. ”
Brown, who lived in Washington for 18 years, said he never saw the game because the current stadium is inaccessible without a car. The team moving to Washington – especially her neighborhood – gives her plenty of opportunity to see her favourite player, quarterback Jaden Daniels, in her body. Daniels was the offensive rookie of the year in 2024 after a record season when the manager went 12-5 under first-year coach Dan Quinn.
Anderson, who works as a security guard for a federal building, moved from Texas to Washington 15 years ago and quickly dropped the Dallas Cowboys to support the new home team.
He said if the commander leaves Maryland for the new stadium in Washington, he would be able to go to their home game.
“I’ve been a Redskins fan much longer than the Commander’s fans,” he said. “But they’re doing good things right now.”
Trump’s threat is “only himself,” he added, not his team or his fans.
All NFL news is on and off the field. Sign up for USA Today’s fourth and Monday newsletter. See the latest version: Trump threatens the commander.
